Recasting Halloween (1978) If It Was Made Today

After more than four decades, John Carpenter’s seminal low-budget slasher Halloween still holds up as a horror masterpiece. As moviegoers flock to see Haddonfield’s last stand against Michael Myers in Halloween Kills, it’s clear that these grisly, blood-soaked stories still have an effect on audiences.

If Carpenter hadn’t laid out the template for the modern slasher way back in 1978 and the script he co-wrote with Debra Hill didn’t get produced until today, then such stars as Anya Taylor-Joy and Vince Vaughn could’ve taken the place of Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle.

7 Anya Taylor-Joy As Laurie Strode

Following in the footsteps of her iconic mother, Psycho’s Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis made a name for herself as the ultimate “scream queen” in Halloween. Scream queens were more prominent in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but there are a few modern-day stars whose contributions to the horror genre have earned them a place in the scream queen canon.

Perhaps the most prominent scream queen in contemporary cinema is Anya Taylor-Joy, whose star power rose thanks to roles in horror films like The Witch, Split, and Last Night in Soho. Taylor-Joy has since broken out of horror cinema and proven her dramatic chops outside the genre in Emma and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. She could’ve given a fantastic turn as Laurie Strode, the quintessential everywoman-turned-badass final girl.

6 Zendaya As Annie Brackett

Annie Brackett is Laurie’s best friend and the first of many teenage babysitters to meet a grisly end at the hands of Michael Myers. Since she’s killed early on, Annie is a small role, but since she’s also Laurie’s closest confidant and her death introduces the threat posed by Michael, she’s still a pretty crucial character.

In the 1978 original, this part was played by Nancy Kyes. Today, it could be portrayed by Zendaya, who’s played the insecurities and vulnerabilities of teenagers to spectacular effect in HBO’s Euphoria and the MCU’s Spider-Man movies.

5 Courtney B. Vance As Dr. Loomis

Michael’s psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis, named after a character in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, is significant to the story because he builds up a mystique around “The Shape” before his killing spree begins. Naturally, this role needs an actor who can make straightforward exposition compelling, like the great Donald Pleasence.

Courtney B. Vance could’ve done a great job with this part. He’s a veteran stage actor who’s been captivating audiences with his voice alone for decades and he’s been regularly appearing on the big screen since his film debut in Hamburger Hill.

4 Roman Griffin Davis As Tommy Doyle

As the kid being babysat by Laurie, Tommy Doyle is a pretty minor role in the grander narrative of Halloween. But he went on to play a larger role in the sequels – he was played by Paul Rudd as an adult – and in the 1978 original, he develops a fun dynamic with Laurie.

A great choice for this role if the movie was being cast today could be Jojo Rabbit star Roman Griffin Davis. In Taika Waititi’s World War II satire, Davis developed similarly quirky dynamics with his co-stars Thomasin McKenzie and Scarlett Johansson.

3 Idris Elba As Sheriff Leigh Brackett

Sheriff Leigh Brackett is the cop on Michael’s tail throughout Halloween. While this role is initially a familiar police archetype, he becomes grief-stricken when Michael claims his daughter Annie as one of his victims. So, the role needs an actor who can handle a lot of complicated emotions, like Idris Elba.

Elba played a police role in a different slasher – the 2008 remake of Prom Night – but that movie’s weak script squandered his talents. He would’ve been much better served by the refreshingly minimalist storytelling of Carpenter and Hill’s masterfully crafted Halloween script.

2 Margaret Qualley As Lynda Van Der Klok

Lynda Van Der Klok helped to establish the “sex equals death” trope in Halloween, as Michael targets her and her boyfriend Bob when they’re in bed. Lynda gets an excruciatingly prolonged death scene as Michael approaches her in a ghost costume and she mistakes him for Bob.

Character-wise, Lynda is a free spirit with a somewhat hedonistic lifestyle. P.J. Soles played her in Carpenter’s movie as the kind of “valley girl” that Frank Zappa sang about. Margaret Qualley did a great job with this kind of personality as the fictional Manson Family member “Pussycat” in Quentin Tarantino’s sun-drenched epic Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

1 Vince Vaughn As Michael Myers

As a remorseless killing machine, Nick Castle made an icon out of Michael Myers. Michael is a hulking menace who lurks around Haddonfield, preying on unsuspecting teenagers, and Castle plays that sinister part to perfection. If the movie was made today, Vince Vaughn could’ve played Michael.

The affable star of Old School and Wedding Crashers might not immediately seem like the right choice to fill Castle’s boiler suit. But Vaughn is one of the tallest actors in Hollywood and he played a cold-blooded killer to fantastic effect in the body-swap slasher Freaky. Plus, he proved his ability to bring a physically intimidating on-screen presence as a ruthless crime lord in the second season of True Detective.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3473 Articles Published)

See also  How to Play the No Visor Role Mod in Among Us

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

More From Ben Sherlock